The Chinese Communist Party Congress has yet to begin, but the outcome is already in. Opponents and critics have been silenced and most noses within the party are pointing in the same direction. And so President Xi Jinping only has to begin his highly unusual third term as party leader next week at the 20th party congress.

“The world has been turned upside down,” said a Party member from Gansu. He is on a study trip with colleagues from the provincial government in Jiaxing, the place where the first party congress was held in 1921 on the so-called red boat. It was previously rented by Mao Zedong and associates. Shortly before, the communists had been expelled from Shanghai, where the meeting was initially kicked off.

“At that time we still had to hide from the Japanese and nationalists, everyone wanted to get us,” says the partisan. “The twentieth party congress is a festival for the whole country. Of course we hope for Xi.”

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An opinion unsurprisingly shared by other party members crowded around the Red Boat on the South Seas in Jiaxing. “This is the cradle of the revolution,” says one of the study group, in the place where there are virtually no tourists due to Covid restrictions. “The Chinese people have risen from here. China has developed rapidly, life is getting better every day.”

In the end, life actually got better for a large part of the population. After the catastrophic years under Mao came prosperity. Civil society has regained some space, albeit limited. Under Xi, this limited space has disappeared like snow in the sun, Yu Wensheng also knows. In 2018, the human rights lawyer called for far-reaching constitutional reforms and also proposed free elections.

“The next day I was arrested,” said Yu, who was released earlier this year. He came out into a world he no longer knew, also due to the strict corona restrictions in China.

“Four years ago, everyone had the freedom to move freely,” explains Yu. “That freedom no longer exists. Everyone seems to be wearing electronic handcuffs now,” he says of the mandatory corona apps and the authorities’ hunger for data. “I feel like I went from a small prison to a big prison.”

Strong words at a time when most critics no longer dare to open their mouths. But Yu, who was tortured and had to share his cell with murderers, rapists, thieves and scammers, still does it and knows the risks like no other.

“When I proposed constitutional changes in 2018, I was arrested the next day,” says Yu, who is more cautious. “I know that could happen again. I won’t say if I’ll do it again, but it’s not likely. I want to be there now for my wife and child who are going through difficult years,” he says.

“One day I might be arrested again, but I hope it won’t be long.” The authorities do not allow him to speak to the media, he is still under surveillance.

The more progressive Chinese’ shaky hopes for a freer and more democratic China seem to have all but disappeared under Xi. “Ten years ago, there was still room for talks and people standing up for human rights,” Yu said of the period before 2012, when Xi took power. “In the current environment, many people no longer dare to speak.”

It was all the more remarkable that a banner was found on the Sitong Bridge, a large viaduct, in Beijing’s university district on Thursday. “We don’t want PCRs, we want food. We don’t want bans, we want freedom,” it said. “Down with the dictatorial traitor Xi Jinping.”

Protests have been plentiful in recent months, but mostly against the ongoing lockdowns. Hardly anyone dares to attack the leader of the Communist Party personally. The day before the opening of the 20th party congress, most of the bridges in the capital are now equipped with agents and volunteers. Beijing is under high tension.

future uncertain

For the students in Jiaxing, Party leader Xi can do no wrong. “We trust him completely,” said Wang Yue, a member of the Youth Communist League. “We believe he will stay forever,” said fellow student Gao Yangyi.

But for the likes of Yu, who has had to give up his lawyer’s badge and had no “political rights” for three years, the future is uncertain. “I may not fight like I used to,” he says calmly. “I don’t know what my fate will be after the 20th party congress, but if I’m not arrested, I might do something for human rights and the rule of law again.”